KING AMARE SPEAKS: Still has back pain, Defense needs to be #1 focus + more

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KING AMARE SPEAKS: Still has back pain, Defense needs to be #1 focus + more

Amar'e Stoudemire's back still sore after injury in Celtics series; was 'shocked' by Walsh's exit

An NBA lockout would hurt Amar'e Stoudemire financially but might be beneficial to his overall well-being.

The Knicks' All-Star power forward revealed Wednesday that he continues to experience back pain nearly two months after originally sustaining an injury on April 19 before Game 2 of the playoffs against Boston.

"It's still tight," said Stoudemire, who was injured during a pregame dunk. "It's still pretty tight. It was pretty serious. It's a muscle that takes a while to heal."

Stoudemire, 28, played Games 3 and 4 of the Knicks' first-round series despite the back injury and says he wouldn't have taken himself out of the lineup had the team advanced.

"I would have played," Stoudemire said, "but it probably wouldn't have been smart."

Stoudemire's health has been a concern since the Knicks signed him to a $100 million contract last July. His contract is uninsured because of his history of knee and eye issues. Stoudemire is optimistic that he'll be ready for training camp, whenever that begins.

A lockout could postpone the start of the season. Stoudemire said that he and Carmelo Anthony have already discussed getting together for workouts next month in Los Angeles. In the event of a lockout, players would be barred from training with NBA coaches and trainers, and at league facilities.

Stoudemire was at Chelsea Piers Wednesday to announce his partnership with Excedrin for its "What's Your Headache?" contest and meet with the winner. In his first public comments since Donnie Walsh announced he was stepping down as Knicks president on June 30, Stoudemire said he was "shocked" by the decision.

"But after talking to Mr. Walsh he felt positive about the situation which made me feel more positive about it," Stoudemire said. "I talked to Mr. (James) Dolan and he felt comfortable with the situation. We still have a great organization and a great chance to win a championship.

"I do think Donnie is a basketball mind so he's going to be in the game of basketball for years to come. I have no control over what the front office does, but from the time I've been here, Donnie's been great. I'll continue to talk and deal with him for the rest of my career. I think we'll be OK next season because Donnie will be around consulting."

Stoudemire also praised the Dallas Mavericks for winning the NBA title this week and for doing a good job of "harassing" LeBron James. In fact, the Mavs' success reinforced Stoudemire's belief that the Knicks, a team that hasn't been known for defense for more than 10 years, needs to focus on performing at both ends of the court.

"For us, no question, it's about focusing in on how important defense is," he said. "We have to focus in on that angle and that angle only. Offense is no problem, but defense is where we have to focus in on."

Stoudemire says he wasn't referring to Mike D'Antoni even though the Knicks coach has been taken to task for not emphasizing defense, a criticism that dates back to his days coaching Stoudemire with the Suns.

The Suns' top three rivals in the Western Conference have all won a title within the last five years, and they all did it with a commitment to defense.

"All the teams we battled with in Phoenix ended up winning the championship except for us," Stoudemire said. "I figured if we stayed together for one year it would have happened. The Lakers, Spurs, Mavs. Each of those teams won a championship. Now we're on the East Coast in New York. It's our turn to win a championship."

Well he's saying all the right things in regards to defense and how important it is for a championship run. But it's one of those things where I'll believe it when I see it.

The players can improve on individual defense all they like -and that will help considerably- however it's something that needs to be coached as well, defensive rotations, smart doubles, etc. That needs to be part of the team's strategy.

STAT needs to set the example & play defense like he was doing in the earlier part of the season. He seemed to fall off dramatically after the Allstar break on the defensive side of the ball. If your best players aren't playing defense, how can you expect your role players to follow suit? STAT & Melo need to set the tone for the rest of the guys to follow. I thought Melo tried to put forth much better effort than he's been known for on defense in the final stretch of last year. Hopefully he & STAT both come into this season w/that kind of mindset & get these guys used to playing hustle type defense on every possession. That's the only way things will ever change around here.

Well I cant blame STAT for his defensive transgressions too much. He basically carried us this year before Melo got here. He played so hard and so many minutes on the offensive end that he really couldnt focus on defense like he should/could. We MUST use more players to give him the proper rest this upcoming season no matter how much they're lacking in offensive skills.

Well I cant blame STAT for his defensive transgressions too much. He basically carried us this year before Melo got here. He played so hard and so many minutes on the offensive end that he really couldnt focus on defense like he should/could. We MUST use more players to give him the proper rest this upcoming season no matter how much they're lacking in offensive skills.

Agreed. He not only carried the team but especially in the early days when Felton was totally out of his depth here, the ball ran through Amare on nearly every play. It was like 2009 when Lee was our best player and he ended up being distributor towards the end of the season. Amare is a power forward not a point forward, D'antoni seems to have missed the memo.

Well I cant blame STAT for his defensive transgressions too much. He basically carried us this year before Melo got here. He played so hard and so many minutes on the offensive end that he really couldnt focus on defense like he should/could. We MUST use more players to give him the proper rest this upcoming season no matter how much they're lacking in offensive skills.

STAT has never been known to be a good defensive player, even in his days in Phoenix when he was playing on a stacked roster, he was doing the same things we saw him do in the 2nd half of this season on the defensive end. He needs to step up & be accountable & not just talk about playing defense. He & Melo both need to set the tone for the rest of the guys to follow.

His great defense in the begining of the season was a combination of a few things. He had major help and inspiraton from Chandler and Turiuf. The season was early (fresh legs), and he was new in town (anxiously waiting to show and prove his worth to the Mecca of BBall.

By the time of the Allstar break his team mates were uninspired due to trade talks and Stat was wearing down because of hugh minutes in a fast pace offense and playing a man to man instead of a zone....thanks to the Knicks rediculous coaching.

By the end of the season he was often seen with ice packs on his knees and in his last game his back gave out. Seeing that this injury is still hindering him should be a HUGH concern for the Knicks. All of that money spent on a young dude burnt out in his first year as a Knick...
That Damn D'Ant may have broken him.

lol @ amare playing great defense early in the season, yea he was blockin shots the whole season but theres alot more to defense then just blocking shots. He very rarely positions himself in the correct way, I see the effort but he has no defensive knowledge. Carmelo is the opposite to me, he knows how to play very good defense but doesnt like to especially against average or below teams.

Amar'e gets a few blocks here or there but that's negated by the fact that he's out of position and often loses his man in the hecticness of things. I wonder if part of it has to do with the fact that we try to force the other team into an uptempo system.